What is the difference between an "English" cucumber and the regular fat waxy green ones? I had a salad of cukes and radishes at a friendís and it was delicious, but she said uses English cuke's only. She didn't know why, only that thatís how her mom made it. Is there really a difference?

First off, there are about 100 varieties of cucumbers actively cultivated around the world. About a third of them are consigned to the pickling bin. The remainder includes varieties that are best cooked and a number that are more popular in Asia or Europe than here.

Second, thereís nothing wrong with the common slicing cucumber, but the English cucumber has it beat in several ways:

It is generally sold wrapped in plastic to reduce water loss, and so is usually not waxed and therefore does not need peeling.

It is usually called seedless (which is an outright lie), but its seeds are much smaller and less prominent.

It is the seeds in a cucumber (and especially in an aging cucumber) that make it bitter, so a semi-seedless English cucumber is less likely to be bitter

It has been bred to be more easily digested than some other varieties (read: fewer burps).